Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to U.S., French and Canadian Scientists

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The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded on Tuesday to Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland of Canada.CreditCreditHanna Franzen/EPA, via Shutterstock

By
The New York Times

Oct. 2, 2018

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded on Tuesday to Arthur Ashkin of the United States, and to Gérard Mourou of France and Donna Strickland of Canada.

Why did they win?

The Nobel committee recognized the scientists for their work in using light to make miniature tools. Dr. Ashkin invented “optical tweezers,” which use pressure from a highly focused laser beam to allow researchers to hold microscopic objects steady. Dr. Strickland and Dr. Mourou developed a method of generating high-intensity, ultrashort laser pulses, known as chirped pulse amplification.

Why is the work important?

Dr. Mourou’s and Dr. Strickland’s work on high-intensity lasers has had a wide range of real-world applications, including in eye surgery and in manufacturing. Dr. Ashkin’s optical tweezers, allowing scientists to control the movement of tiny things, has been especially important in biological research on viruses and other microbes.

Who are the winners?

The committee cited work that Dr. Ashkin, 96, did from the 1960s — shortly after lasers were first invented — to the 1980s, while he was at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey.

Dr. Strickland, 59, only the third woman to win the Physics prize, is an associate professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Dr. Mourou, 74, is a professor at the École Polytechnique in France. They did their groundbreaking work together while at the University of Rochester in the 1980s.

Who won the 2017 Physics Nobel?

Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish
were recognized for the detection of ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago but had never been directly seen. The Royal Swedish Academy called it “a discovery that shook the world.”

• The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science will be announced on Monday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winner,
Richard H. Thaler.

•
The Nobel Prize in Literature has been postponed. The institution that chooses the laureate is embroiled in a scandal involving allegations of sexual misconduct, financial malpractice and repeated leaks — a crisis that led to the departure of several board members and required the intervention of the king of Sweden. Two laureates might be announced next year. Read about last year’s winner,
Kazuo Ishiguro.